Serpents Tongue, The Walking Dead

lxviii. mending broken bridges

All except Hershel. He chose to be the one to watch Judith for the night. Carl and Theo were forbidden from the beer, but the two sat alongside each other by the fire with a tired Patrick next to the latter. Beth also excluded herself from the drinking part, but she did manage to snag a seat in the circle next to her sister━━a warm smile curled around her lips. It was easy to see that the survivors were just glad to be there, the growing flames of the fire clashing against the charred logs within.

And there Adeline was, the topic of the conversation moving to Beths' boyfriend Zack who started to talk about how much he loved maple syrup from where he sat next to her. The widow fell silent, her hand curled around the bottle of her beer as she looked over to Rick, his head turning to her at the same time. And the second their eyes met, her smile faltered.

Almost instantaneously, the same flash of fear that struck her eyes the night he drove his knife into her husbands' chest cornered her mind. It was just like she was back there, hiding like a coward in the tree line of that field. He took notice of the fading smile, watching with softened eyes as she tucked her lips into a tightlipped frown before turning to her beer to take a swig.

She feared that reminder would always be there when she looked at her brother, the fingerless gloves on her hands brushing against the quilt across her lap. In a quick movement, she pulled the thick cover off of her and stood to her feet. "Be right back," Adeline assured, her hands trembling slightly around the glass as she stepped past Sasha Williams who claimed the foldable lawn chair beside of her.

The warmth from the fire faded from her skin, a familiar cold feeling crawling across her chest as the chilly air clamored through her throat and into her lungs. She felt her stomach twist, dropping with a rush of fear from the wave of emotions that crashed into her. All over a look, the words stung her mind as her steps faltered━━flashes of memories she kept tucked away cornering her mind as the glass bottle in her hands fell to the concrete; shattering loudly upon the harsh impact.

PRESENT TIME
THE BARN

"You alright?" The voice of her brother snapped through the clouded barrens of her mind, pulling her out of the memory she (for some reason) decided to think back on. Rick stood next to her, the loud cries of Judith that Adeline was trying to block out all of a sudden becoming louder from where she sat on her fathers' hip. His eyes were turned down to his sisters' hands, causing the widow to furrow her brows before glancing down to the sight. She didn't even feel it. "Shit." Addy cursed underneath her breath, busted glass of a full applesauce jar barely missing the scarred skin of her palm.

"I'm sorry," She apologized, feeling the burn of a cut tear through the sauce. "How do we even know if this is good to eat?" Adeline retorted, the bones of her wrist popping as she slung the remnants of the sauce onto the hay-covered floor. Careful to avoid the glass, she turned her attention to the restrained Aaron that sat in the same spot as before. His hands remained tied behind his back, slightly panicked eyes shifting between the barn door and the very loudly crying toddler.

"You did see that there are two jars of applesauce in my bag, right?" He questioned, interrupting the wailing screams.

Adeline glanced back at the table, her eyes moving over the various items that had been pulled out of the pack before finding the other jar. She looked back to Rick reluctantly, unable to tell if the man on the floor was worth trusting. The group he'd sent out had yet to return, but that was probably because not much time had passed since they left. So when she met his expression, it was more than obvious that the same thoughts were running through his head━━"Can you hold her?" He questioned, motioning to his crying baby.